It was back in 1990 while visiting Italy on a business trip my cousin Domenico Leoncelli took me up to his small country village in the Apennine Mountains, about 45 minutes drive above the city of Reggio Emilia. While bringing me to see his mother, my aunt Lucia, he also took me past the small local church that Father Mario Ioti was in the process of restoring. While visiting the church he pointed out the broken amber-colored glass above the main front door and asked if there was any way I would ever consider making a few stained glass windows to replace the broken amber-colored glass in the windows above the door and two windows on each side of the church. I told him that every now and again I have free time and I would be happy to create the small windows.

It was in 1992 when I first delivered those stained-glass windows to the church in Nismozza. Shortly after that my mother reminded me that my grandfather, was from the village of Busana just down the road from Nismozza and that she would like it if I also would make stained glass windows for her father’s small village church in Busana. I agreed. It took several years to complete the windows in Busana but eventually they were installed.

Then on another trip to Italy I had the good fortune to run into my aunt from Australia, my mother’s sister Bruna, who was visiting Italy on her way to visit Međugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina. I was invited to lunch at our cousin’s house who is hosting my aunt from Australia. During that lunch my aunt reminded me that my grandmother side of the family was from Ramiseto where we were at the time. Being often direct she asked me why I have forgotten about the small church here in my grandmother’s village, Ramisto. It wasn’t long after that when a priest heard I was in town on another business trip. He came by my cousin Renato Bronzoni’s home, while we were eating dinner asking, “Where’s the American who does the stained glass?”